Spring Water Vs. Tap Water

[andyherrick]

I am a three batch veteran in all grain. I have questions about the type of water to use. I know that I should get a water report, but have not. I have city water. I also do not want to buy a water filtration system either.

I am basing this question on the taste alone. I brewed a pale ale recipe kit on two different occasions. I used the same process on both of them, and the only thing that is different is the yeast and water.

The first one I used regular tap water with safale S04. The second time I used walmart spring water with wyeast 1056. The two beers in my opinion tasted very similiar. I thought they were both tasty.

$8 in spring water or tap water? If the water tastes ok, it will make good beer?

Thanks again. Any comment is appreciated.

 

[samc]

If you like your tap water and it makes a beer you like, why spend the $$$.

 

[SkyHighBrew88]

If you do have to buy H20, I buy local 5 gallon jugs of reverse osmosis water (around $4.50) and dilute with house filtered water. I'm not sure exactly what my water profile is although I know it's pretty hard and am slowly adding more & more of my own house water.

 

[andyherrick]

I have heard a lot of talk about RO water, and do not fully understand it. How different is it from spring water.

 

[paraordnance]

5 gal RO water refill is $2.99 here, I think its worth it and I can drink from the tap

 

[maida7]

I have heard a lot of talk about RO water, and do not fully understand it. How different is it from spring water.

RO water is stripped clean of all mineral content. If you use only RO water you should add minerals. RO water is very useful for diluting mineral rich water.

Spring water has minerals of unknown amounts. You could probably get the mineral info from the spring water company. Depending on the mineral content the spring water may or may not be great for brewing. Depending on the beer style, you may want to add minerals to spring water and/or dilute the mineral content with RO water.

Really you'd need a water report for your tap water and the sprig water before we could make a real comparison.

But if your tap water makes good beer then just stick with that. RDWHAHB

 

[samc]

I have heard a lot of talk about RO water, and do not fully understand it. How different is it from spring water.

The water is drawn through a membrane with very tiny pores/holes and because of that your water is mostly stripped of minerals and many of the potentially harmful things that can be in it. So at that point you need to add back the minerals to get your water good for brewing.

Not all RO systems are created equal and vary in the efficiency of the process.

 

[DrawTap88]

RO all the way. I have tap water that is loaded with Chloramine so in order to make a beer that doesn't stress my yeast so much, gotta use the RO.

 

[sportscrazed2]

Quick question for all of you. When I go all grain I plan on brewing on my deck. Is there some kind of water filter I can attach to my hose because that will make life much simpler than buying a bunch of 1 gallon bottles of water

 

[DrawTap88]

Quick question for all of you. When I go all grain I plan on brewing on my deck. Is there some kind of water filter I can attach to my hose because that will make life much simpler than buying a bunch of 1 gallon bottles of water

Not sure about the filter, but you will want to get one of the white RV hoses so you don't get the hose water taste.

 

[maida7]

Quick question for all of you. When I go all grain I plan on brewing on my deck. Is there some kind of water filter I can attach to my hose because that will make life much simpler than buying a bunch of 1 gallon bottles of water

you should not brew with water from a garden hose. You need an RV hose. There are filters made for these hoses. But what do you hope to gain from using a filter?

 

[corwin6654]

you should not brew with water from a garden hose. You need an RV hose. There are filters made for these hoses. But what do you hope to gain from using a filter?

Mmmmmm....Hose water.

 

[maida7]

Mmmmmm....Hose water.

I have great memories of drinking water from the hose. But I've been told it makes bad beer.

 

[fatguy-littlecoat]

RO all the way. I have tap water that is loaded with Chloramine so in order to make a beer that doesn't stress my yeast so much, gotta use the RO.

same here but i use campden tabs to remove the chloramine...

 

[djt17]

I have great memories of drinking water from the hose. But I've been told it makes bad beer.

Trust me, it does...I had a IC leak about 2 qts into my wort once. It was hooked up to a brand new garden hose. After 3 months bottle conditioning, I finally dumped it. The band aid smell & taste was awful.

 

[johnodon]

Quick question for all of you. When I go all grain I plan on brewing on my deck. Is there some kind of water filter I can attach to my hose because that will make life much simpler than buying a bunch of 1 gallon bottles of water

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/water-filter-setup-29145/

I love this setup. I have faucet mounted directly over my brew kettle that I can swing out of the way when not in use.

John

 

[Toasted678]

The water is drawn through a membrane with very tiny pores/holes and because of that your water is mostly stripped of minerals and many of the potentially harmful things that can be in it. So at that point you need to add back the minerals to get your water good for brewing.

Not all RO systems are created equal and vary in the efficiency of the process.

I have access to RO water and I have been wondering about this myself. I was planning on using all RO water. Do you have an idea about how much of what minerals you would need to add to the RO water for the beer to turn out alright? I'm hoping to start my first brew this weekend. Thanks!

 

[maida7]

I have access to RO water and I have been wondering about this myself. I was planning on using all RO water. Do you have an idea about how much of what minerals you would need to add to the RO water for the beer to turn out alright? I'm hoping to start my first brew this weekend. Thanks!

If your doing an extract brew then you be fine with RO water and no added minerals.

If your doing AG with all RO water then you really need to add salts. But it depends on what kinda beer style, color, malts, mash & sparge volumes, etc... It gets complicated. Water adjustments are not something people tackle on their first brew. Perhaps you can just use your tap water for now. Unless your tap water is horrible, don't worry about the water. RDWHAHB

 

[Toasted678]

Thanks maida7. It is an extract kit, Northern Brewer's Extra Pale Ale actually. My tap water is ok. Has a little bit of a weird taste to it (not chlorine) but it is city water so it should be pretty good. I just don't trust Florida tap water. I have heard bad things and we are basically at sea level so I would assume contaminates have an easier job getting in than other places. I'll just try the all RO for the extract kit and see how it goes. I think RDWHAHB is quickly becoming my favorite acronym. Well besides BBQ...

 

[funkswing]

andyherrick - that whole-house water filtration system johnodon linked above is where its at.

maida7 - what does he hope to gain from filtering? To remove chlorine and lead would be my best guesses. If you have city water you must do something about chlorine to make the best possible beer.

Garden hoses will leach lead into your water, and other stuff that affects the taste of it. Buy the RV hose or just get vinyl tubing.

 

[markg388]

I pull the little white doo-hicky out of the clear plastic brita pitcher and suspend that over my brew kettle, then set the sink water on a low trickle through it while I go to the brew store and mill my grain. Slow, but it gets the job done for me. For some reason I have to do everything the hard way for a few months before I buy something to make it convenient.

 

[andyherrick]

I really enjoyed the pictures that jonodon had. I guess they are cheaper than i thought. Homebrewing is great, but there seems to always be something more i can do and want to purchase. Thanks for all the replies everyone.

 

[funkswing]

markg388 - I have been doing that EXACT same thing for a LONG TIME now. It blows! But it does work, so I'm right there with you.

I just wish I had the whole-house filtration thing setup.

 

[funkswing]

andyherrick - of course there is, but it doesn't mean that its going to end up making better beer.

I have tasted beer brewed on Wunderkind (blinged-out) systems that I thought sucked. So its all about the brewer and his technique. Equipment only serves the brewer.

But then again, when it comes to water, that is >95% of the beer.

 

[maida7]

Hey just an FYI concerning using a filter to remove chlorine and chloramine.

Chlorine is MUCH easier to remove then Chloramine. Most any charcoal filter is effective on Chlorine. But Chloramine may require a special filter and MUCH slower flow rates.

 

[sportscrazed2]

one more question is there some kind of tubing that i can attach to my kitchen sink along with a filter of worts so that i can let it pour into a bucket rather than having to fill 1 gallon water jugs up because i can't fit the bucket in the sink?

 

[maida7]

one more question is there some kind of tubing that i can attach to my kitchen sink along with a filter of worts so that i can let it pour into a bucket rather than having to fill 1 gallon water jugs up because i can't fit the bucket in the sink?

You can get an adapter for your sink that will allow any garden hose to be attached.

Then use an RV hose and filter as seen in earlier posts.

 

[BrokenDog]

My theory is that if you drink your water and don't mind the taste, then you will probably like the way it makes your beer taste, if not go buy it.

 

[djt17]

My theory is that if you drink your water and don't mind the taste, then you will probably like the way it makes your beer taste, if not go buy it.

I have well water that tastes good; but, it is very high in bicarbonates & iron. It does not make good beer, it must be diluted with RO water.